Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign

Re-launch of the Western Cape AEC focuses on a renewed coordinated fight against evictions, water cutoffs, electricity cutoffs and for decent housing for all!

6 12 2010

Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign Press Statement
6 December 2010

Last week, on Sunday the 28^th of December 2010, the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign held its first official Annual General Meeting (AGM) in about 8 years at Nobantu Lower Primary School in Gugulethu.

The previous WC-AEC executive committee had failed in its mandate and and had refused to conduct AGMs each and every year. The result was that the leadership undermined the AEC membership and the democratic process to which the movement had committed. Many communities stopped attending WC-AEC meetings and the movement lost a lot of its members.

This year’s AGM was to fix this, re-launch and re-invigorate the movement. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tags: Annual General Meeting, Blikkiesdorp Informal Committee, Delft Integrated Network, Eastridge Anti-Eviction Campaign, elections, gugulethu, Hanover Park Residents Committee, New Crossroads Anti-Eviction Campaign, Nobantu Lower Primary School, Nyanga East Anti-Eviction Campaign, transparency, Woodridge Anti-Eviction Campaign, Zille Raine Heights
Categories : Anti-Eviction Campaign, Archives, News & Press Release

Solidarity: Kennedy 12 Trial: Five Nil to Abahlali baseMjondolo

4 12 2010

Friday, 03 December 2010
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

Today the first five days of the trial of the Kennedy 12 came to an end. The trial will resume in May next year and then, if more time is needed, it will continue again in July.We wish to begin this statement by thanking all of those people and organisations that have stood by our movement in the difficult times that followed the attack and then this ongoing trial. Your solidarity is much appreciated. There is a saying that when days are dark friends are few. But in these dark times we still have many friends and the solidarity from all of you is deeply appreciated. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tags: Abahlali baseMjondolo, Kennedy 12, police frame-up, Westville prison
Categories : Archives, Poor People's Alliance, Solidarity

Frustrations over service delivery

29 11 2010

By Lelethu Mquqo – Bush Radio
29 November 2010

A public protest action has been taking place since the early hours of this morning in Kosovo Main Street to Samora Machel to demand improved service delivery.

A crowd of residents from Ward 33 are protesting the City of Cape Town’s defaulting on cleaning solid waste from the area for three weeks now.

The residents of this area which is mostly dominated by informal settlements complain that the contractors appointed to clean up the rubbish from the area have been appointed on a nepotistic basis. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tags: Kennedy 12, Kosovo, Mncedisi Twalo, Samora Machel
Categories : Mainstream and Other News

Media: Mandela Park house chaos

29 11 2010

Monday November 29th 2010 – WestCapeNews

Beneficiaries of a Khayelitsha housing project have spoken out about alleged fraudulent sales and illegal occupations of their houses. The Mandela Park Housing Project 823 has been constructed in phases over the past eight years and is nearing its completion, but has been wracked by sporadic protests – often violent – by Mandela Park backyarders over the fact that beneficiaries are from Gugulethu informal settlements.West Cape News established this week that backyarders have illegally occupied about ten state-subsidised houses in the housing project since the beginning of the month, moving in as soon as, and sometimes before, the contractor completed them. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tags: corruption, housing, West Cape News
Categories : Archives, Mainstream and Other News, Mandela Park in Khayelitsha

Solidarity with Abahlali baseMjondolo – Kennedy 12 finally begin their case tomorrow

28 11 2010

Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign Solidarity Statement
29 November 2010

Today, 12 members of Abahlali baseMjondolo from Kennedy Road will be in court following more than a year of delays in this clearly political murder trial.

We would like to declare our full solidarity with our Poor People’s Alliance partner during these trying times.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Tags: Abahlali baseMjondolo, Kennedy 12, political trial
Categories : Anti-Eviction Campaign, Archives, News & Press Release, Poor People's Alliance, Solidarity

Residents cry foul as houses fall apart

23 11 2010

22 Nov 2010 | Yazeed Kamaldien | Sowetan

RESIDENTS of the Newfields Village housing project in Hanover Park, Cape Town, want a building contractor who is hired by the government fired because it allegedly sold them shoddy homes.

Auditor-general Terrence Nombembe last week sent inspectors to the 2300 homes – built by the Cape Town Community Housing Company (CTCHC) – to look at their cracked walls, exposed electrical cables, damp and toilets that continuously break.

The AG’s inspectors would not comment to the media except to say that Nombembe would release a report to Parliament soon.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Tags: Auditor General, cape town community housing company, CTCHC, Fungai Mudimu, Gary Hartzenberg, Newfields Village
Categories : Anti-Eviction Campaign, Mainstream and Other News, Newfields Village

Auditor General investigating Cape Town Community Housing Company

16 11 2010

Newfields Village Community Representative Committee
16 November 2010

Communities affected by the negligence and substandard housing built by Cape Town Community Housing Company (CTCHC) are happy to welcome inspectors from the Auditor General’s Cape Town office.

Mr Oberholzer and his team will be inspecting selected houses in the eight CTCHC built communities within the next few days.

Today’s visit included the Heideveld and Luyolloville CTCHC communities.

On Wednesday the 17^th of November, the Auditor General will be visiting the CTCHC communities in Woodridge, Eastridge and Philippi.

Finally, on Thursday the 18^th of November, they will visit the last CTCHC communities: Pylon, Railway and Newfields Village.

This is a partial audit of the communities. If the Auditor General finds evidence of negligence, corruption and substandard house building, they will conduct a full audit of all the houses in the CTCHC communities.

For more information on the history behind the CTCHC housing scandal, click here for previous press releases

For more information, contact Gary Hartzenberg (Newfields Village CRC) @ 072 392 5859

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Tags: Auditor General, cape town community housing company, CTCHC
Categories : Anti-Eviction Campaign, Archives, Eastridge, Newfields Village, News & Press Release

The Poor People’s Alliance and other movements in support of the residents of Hangberg, Hout Bay

2 10 2010

Solidarity Statement by the South African Poor People’s Alliance
2 October 2010 – For immediate release

We are calling for an immediate investigation into the atrocious violence and repression by police forces against the residents of Hangberg in Hout Bay, Cape Town.

Sunday, Hangberg residents will march on Hout Bay Police Station and deliver a memorandum to Safety & Security MEC Albert Fritz, Premier Helen Zille, Mayor Dan Plato and the Western Cape Police Commissioner Arno Lamoer. They will be joined by residents of Imizamo Yethu who are also facing eviction from Hout Bay.

Date: Sunday 3rd October 2010
Time: 10h00 (prayer service and rally) and 12h00 (protest march)
Begin: Hangberg Park
End: Hout Bay SAPS Police Station

Read the rest of this entry »

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Tags: Hangberg, Hout Bay
Categories : Anti-Eviction Campaign, Archives, News & Press Release, Solidarity

Four evictions yesterday in Gugulethu with promises of more to come

29 09 2010

Gugulethu Backyarders Press Release
29 September 2010

The Gugulethu community experienced four major evictions yesterday and, according to the presiding Sheriff of the Court, there are many more evictions to come.

As of yesterday evening, three out of the four evictions have been reversed by community members with the support of anti-eviction activists. But the events are a wake up call to us – we need to unite and be on alert if we are going to be able to prevent further evictions in our neighbourhoods. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tags: Gugulethu Backyarders, illegal evictions
Categories : Anti-Eviction Campaign, Archives, gugulethu, News & Press Release

Solidarity: Another Devastating Shack Fire in the Kennedy Road Settlement

11 08 2010

Click here to read ‘A Big Devil in the Jondolos: A report on Shack Fires’ by Matt Birkinshaw (2008).

Press Release: 10 August 2010.
Another Devastating Shack Fire in the Kennedy Road Settlement

If electricity, water and adequate housing were provided in the Kennedy Road shack settlement these recurring shack fires could have been prevented.

The Kennedy Road shack settlement burnt once again at about 10 pm on Sunday, 08 August 2010 – two hours before women’s day. As of today thousands of residents in Kennedy are homeless in this cold winter weather. If the municipality had given them houses or provided them with basic services, such as electricity, refuse collection, road access and water they would have been safe from fire. Fire is a serious threat to our lives. It is an undeniable fact that electricity is not needed by us but that our lives’ need electricity. In settlements that have electricity it is so unlikely to have fires of this nature as it is happening again and again in Kennedy.

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